1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a musical instrument having a plurality of play operators for determining a tone pitch of a generated musical tone in accordance with a combination of operation of the plurality of play operators, like a wind instrument such as a trumpet or a horn.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, a musical instrument has appeared that generates a musical tone electronically by imitating a method of playing a wind instrument such as a saxophone or a recorder. This type of musical instrument includes a plurality of play operators that are pressed and operated by a player for determining a tone pitch of a generated musical tone in accordance with a pressing operation of the plurality of play operators, in the same manner as in a wind instrument such as a saxophone or a recorder.
In the aforesaid wind instrument or electronic wind instrument, designation of tone pitch for playing operation is comparatively easy. However, in a wind instrument such as a trumpet or a horn, since the tone pitch of a generated musical tone is determined by a combination of pressing operation of three piston operators, designation of tone pitch is a little more complex. Namely, one finds it difficult to perform smooth playing of such a wind instrument, as compared with a musical instrument such as a keyboard instrument in which one operator (one key) is operated for designation of tone pitch. This, therefore, raises a problem in that a player who has not mastered playing a wind instrument such as a trumpet or a horn cannot enjoy this type of musical instrument with ease, and finds it difficult to seize an opportunity for practicing to play the musical instrument.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to make a user capable of easily enjoying playing a musical instrument that determines a tone pitch of a generated musical tone in accordance with a combination of operation of a plurality of play operators and capable of easily practicing on the musical instrument.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, a characteristic constitutional feature of the present invention lies in that, in a musical instrument that determines a tone pitch of a generated musical tone in accordance with a combination of operation of a plurality of play operators, a play guiding device is provided for guiding a player to proceed to play by a method such that the player in a playing state can perceive, where the play guiding device shows the player a combination of the plurality of play operators that should be operated by the player.
In this case, the play guiding device can be constructed to show the player the play operators that should be operated, through, for example, light emission of the plurality of play operators themselves, light emission of a neighborhood of each of the plurality of play operators, displacement of the plurality of play operators (for example, vertical movement or vibration of the play operators), or the like.
Further, the plurality of play operators may be displaced, for example downwards, by operation of the player. The play guiding device may comprise a plurality of light emitting elements disposed in the neighborhood of the plurality of play operators respectively. In this case each of the plurality of light emitting elements may function as a stopper against each displacement (for example, each downward displacement) of the plurality of play operators. Instead of this, the musical instrument further includes a plurality of stopping members for restricting the displacement (for example, the downward displacement) of the plurality of play operators respectively. The plurality of stopping members may be disposed in the neighborhood of the plurality of light emitting elements.
Furthermore, the musical instrument may further includes a plate disposed in the neighborhood of the plurality of play operators, the plate embedding the plurality of light emitting elements. In this case, musical instrument further may include a plurality of stopping members for restricting the displacement (for example, the downward displacement) of the plurality of play operators respectively on the plate.
According to the characteristic feature of the present invention thus constructed, a combination of the plurality of play operators that should be operated can be shown to the player by a method such that the player in a playing state can perceive, through light emission of the plurality of play operators themselves, light emission of a neighborhood of each of the plurality of play operators, displacement of the plurality of play operators, or the like. Therefore, according to the characteristic feature of the present invention, even a player who has not mastered playing this type of musical instrument can easily determine the tone pitch of the generated musical tone by following the aforesaid play guide, so that the player can easily enjoy playing this type of musical instrument and can easily practice on the musical instrument.
Another characteristic feature of the present invention lies in that the musical instrument of this type is further provided with a converting portion for inputting tone pitch data representing a tone pitch and for converting the input tone pitch data into combination data representing a combination of operation of the plurality of play operators corresponding to the tone pitch represented by the tone pitch data, and a guide controlling portion for controlling the combination of operation of the play operators shown to the player by the play guiding device, in accordance with the combination data converted by the converting portion.
According to the characteristic feature of the present invention thus constructed, by simply inputting tone pitch data representing a tone pitch, the converting portion and the guide controlling portion show the player a combination of the plurality of play operators that should be operated. Therefore, the player can use the play guiding function of this musical instrument with ease.
Still another characteristic feature of the present invention lies in that the musical instrument of this type is further provided with an external inputting portion capable of inputting performance data representing a piece of music from outside; and a guide controlling portion for controlling the combination of operation of the play operators shown to the player by the play guiding device, in accordance with the performance data input from outside by the external inputting portion. In this case, the external inputting portion inputs performance data from various external music apparatus such as a sequencer, an electronic musical instrument, a personal computer, or inputs performance data from a server via a communication line such as the internet.
According to the characteristic feature of the present invention thus constructed, the player can easily obtain performance data representing various music via the external inputting portion and can let the play guiding device show the player a combination of the play operators that should be operated by the player on the basis of the input performance data. Therefore, the player can easily enjoy playing various music and can easily practice playing various music.